The Prince’s Unwilling mate

114 Griffin

Finally, it was time to return to the BloodMoon pack, and this time I would not go back without my Ayla in my arms. For the past week, I had been training the guards. I made sure every single one of them knew what Ayla looked like. That they all knew what David looked like, and that they all knew they should kill them if that meant they could save Ayla.

I did as Dad requested, or should I say suggested, and I kept about 30% of the army back at the castle. While 70% joined me in the Blood Moon pack. Of course, Dillion, Collin, Gerard, and Jessa joined me too. They would always be there for me and Ayla. I knew they would. But the fact that so many of us meant that we could not take the jet. It’s not a commercial airplane, so we cannot fit the hundred wolves that joined me into the BloodMoon pack. Somehow I liked that because driving there might take longer, but it was more active. It felt like I was actually doing something to get closer to her. To get her back, I just knew I would have been restless on the plane. Now I needed to focus On the road ahead of me, that is why I chose to drive alone.

***

It is funny how the same journey can feel so much shorter or longer depending on the reason for the journey. Knowing this time I was going there, this time to rescue her. And how much time I would need to finally find her the road to the BloodMoon pack seemed too long. That

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would have been the only upside of using the plane. It would have been there so much faster. Now I need to stop halfway through the journey. We had made a reservation on forehand. Claiming to be a football team here for practice, still, the hotel staff looked at us funny when we all entered the hotel. As was often the case when a larger group of wolves was residing on human property.

Another downside of having to travel like this. But the biggest downside. was, how human we needed to act. We couldn’t shift to go for a run when most of us had a lot of pent–up energy. Eating as much as we wanted to in just one restaurant. Because we eat more than an average human does, Dillion, Gerald, and I have been kicked out of an all–you- can–eat restaurant before. Since they thought we were stealing food with how much we were eating. To solve that, we go our separate ways in different groups. So that we do not draw so much attention to ourselves. We would also all eat at two restaurants. Making this a costly trip, but I would drain the entire treasury and my own accounts to get Ayla back, and it would all be worth it.

I knew that I could not get away with eating on my own. Dillion and the rest of them insisted on all of us going together. Which would mean they would watch me. Keep an eye on what I was eating, and if I would make do with the bare minimum because I was hardly able to swallow anything down. Not with the lump in my throat. Not with the ball of nerves and worries about my mate longed in my throat. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

***

Dinner last night could have been worse, the others did carefully watch

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what I was eating. Still, the fact that I wasn’t alone all night made the time go by faster. Now I was on the road again, on my own in my car. Doing something to get closer to Ayla. Blasting songs that reminded me of her. Talking to her, promising her that I was getting closer to her. I didn’t hear her voice anymore. By now, I didn’t even know if it had been real or not. Still, talking to her, believing, or maybe just hoping that she could hear me made me feel better.

Everyone agreed with me not to stop at a hotel again tonight. We all wanted to get to the BloodMoon pack as fast as possible. Not just to be able to shift and act like ourselves without having to be overly aware of the fact that humans might notice something “weird” about us. Everyone was just as determined to get Ayla back as I was. We talked about the fact that we would arrive so late in the night, and it would be dark out already. And it had been one of our guards, Nicky, who suggested we could just go on a nice run. To give our wolves some freedom after a long road trip.

“We can’t help being wolves, and being alert and maybe finding some clues when we do now can we Prince Griffin” She had smirked.

I had just hugged her and everyone knew enough at that moment. Now I was antsy to finally arrive and go on that run we talked about. She had a point, going out as wolves might be a smarter idea than going in our human forms. Our instincts and senses are much better developed than those of a regular human, even in our human forms. But it still was nothing compared to our instincts and especially senses when we were in our wolf forms. Combined with the fact that we will be closer to the ground to notice clues like scents and footprints. I felt bad I didn’t come

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up with this idea myself.

***

After being in the car for another nine hours, with a thirty–minute break to get some food. We finally arrived at the Blood Moon pack at dusk. Alpha Jay and Luna Tessie were already waiting for us at the entrance. They both looked awful, which made sense. Alongside their daughter being missing, they had taken over a pack that was ruined to the ground. And while they were rebuilding it, they learned their little girl was raped. Raped by the wolf the once hoped she would be mated to.

The second Tessie saw me, she burst out in tears. Now was the time for me to be strong. Not because I was, but because it was what Ayla would want for me to do. I walked over to Tessie and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Don’t worry, we will get her back, and we will make him pay for what he has done” I told her.

“I know, and I am so happy she found a mate so understanding. Thank you for not blaming my little girl. I don’t think she would survive losing you” Tessie answered me.

“Well, that won’t happen because I would not survive losing her either. But listen, none of us could shift yesterday. Do you mind if we go for a short run before we settle in?” I asked both her and Alpha Jay.

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The last gave me a knowing smile, but they agreed. Even as befriended packs, as family. Werewolves are sticklers for traditions and rules, showing our respect for one another. With me asking the Alpha and Luna for permission to do something good for my.pack. The guards I brought with their written permission. I made sure not to upset any of the other pack members. Which in the end would make my life so much casier. The loyalty in this pack still was fragile, and we needed the pack to be strong enough to take on their former Alpha. Because more and. more it seemed like that would be what we were going to have to deal with. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

“Come on guys, we can go on a run for about an hour before we have to settle in”

I shouted at my army, who stood at attention, paying their respect to this new Alpha and Luna. I felt a swirl of pride in my chest as I looked at them, I truly did not understand how the Birches had run this pack to: the ground because they only wanted higher–ranking members. But I had no time to think about that, I needed to go into the woods to find my girl, and so I did…

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